Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the metals recycling sector on (a) potential barriers to the sector reaching net zero, (b) support for the sector to reach net zero and (c) the potential impact of the sector on the ability of other parts of the economy to reach net zero.

The Department for Business and Trade has regular contact with the metals recycling sector and they have raised electrification of sites and access to hydrogen networks as potential barriers. The Government’s Electricity Networks Strategic Framework sets out a vision for the transformation of the electricity network, and the Government aims to respond to its consultation on hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure later this year.

To support decarbonisation, the sector can apply to the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, the Programme of Research and Innovation for the UK Steel and Metals sector, and the SUSTAIN Future Manufacturing Research Hub.

Metals recycling will play an important role in helping the domestic aluminium and steel sectors deliver net zero production, through the delivery of reduced residual scrap as a key feedstock.